Fayette volleyball ready for PSUAC Tourney
Lemont Furnace, PA - As if it is a right of passage, the Penn State Fayette Volleyball team is gearing up once again for the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) tournament which begins on Thursday, October 28.
With the "Second Season" upon us, Fayette will look to continue its domination of the tournament in an attempt to win its third straight PSUAC crown and 12th since its first in 2005. (Note: the 2012 crown was shared between Fayette and Penn College.)
This year, however, things are a little different for Fayette (12-8 overall, 7-5). The young squad finished fourth in the PSUAC West division and opens on the road as it heads to West division top seed Penn State Mont Alto (18-5, 10-2).
While Mont Alto has a higher seed and a better record, Fayette and Mont Alto split their two matches this year with both teams winning on the road, which could bode well for Fayette.
Head coach Sam Swetz spoke about what it is going to take for Fayette to down Mont Alto again and return to the legendary Rec Hall.
"We will have to communicate and have energy," she said. "Our energy has been a roller coaster this year. It is important to maintain high energy on the bench and on the court. Mont Alto has a loud team, so it is important we match that."
On September 14, Fayette went on the road and swept Mont Alto (25-22, 25-19, 27-25).
"We came to play that night," Swetz said. "I still think that was one of our best games all season. The chemistry and the 'go-getter' attitude we displayed that night was amazing."
In the rematch on October 3, Mont Alto extracted revenge by winning a five-set match (23-15, 25-16, 23-25, 21-25, 15-5) by holding off a furious Fayette comeback attempt.
"The second time we played them, we had two key starters returning the day of the game after being out for 10 days," said Swetz. "We went in with that challenge on top of Mont Alto being such a strong team."
When asked about specific players and what they would have to do for Fayette to get the win, Swetz ran through every girl on the team before speaking about her seniors.
"We have such great seniors overall this season," she said. "Although our record doesn't completely show it, we are an extremely talented team this year and I can't wait to prove that in the playoffs."
Another person Swetz mentioned being such a key is assistant coach Janelle Cooper.
"I just feel incredibly blessed to have had Janelle as my assistant since I have started," said Swetz, who also serves as Fayette's Athletic Coordinator. "This has been a challenging season, and due to taking on added responsibilities due to us not having a (full-time) Director of Athletics for most of the season, Janelle has kept me grounded and I am just so grateful for her. I truly cannot coach without her at this point. She is truly my other half on the sidelines."
In the other West division quarterfinal matchup Thursday, Penn State DuBois (16-5, 10-2), the second seed, hosts Penn State Greater Allegheny (17-7, 9-3), the third seed. On the East side, top-seeded Penn State York (15-7, 11-1) hosts fourth-seeded Penn State Lehigh Valley (7-10, 5-7) and second-seeded Penn State Brandywine (13-6, 11-1) hosts third-seeded Penn State Schuylkill (10-8, 8-4).
The four winners will advance to Rec Hall on Main Campus Monday with the lowest remaining East seed facing the highest remaining West seed at 5 p.m. Then at 7 p.m., the lowest remaining West seed plays the highest remaining East seed.
The championship will take place Tuesday, November 2 in Rec Hall at 6 p.m.
For more information on the volleyball team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/wvball/index.